Commentary

Abstract

The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is generally straightforward. The pillars of diagnostic evaluation are the clinical history (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting) and serum amylase and lipase determination. We perform ultrasonography primarily to assess for gallstones as the cause of the episode of pancreatitis, and to look for bile duct dilation as a possible sign of ongoing choledocholithiasis - however, ultrasonography is of limited utility in evaluating the pancreas itself.